Compared to the fronts, the rears are a piece of cake.

1. Put the car up on jack stands, remove both wheels. Again, if you try to lift/do one at a time you'll be working against the sway bar.



2. Remove the lower shock mounting bolt. 19mm. You're probably going to have to move the parking brake cable out of the way to get the bolt out. You may also have to 'encourage' the bolt to come out with a hammer and punch.


3. Remove the upper control arm bolt. 18mm/19mm. Just like the fronts, it will pop up a bit when released from the tension in the bushings.


4. Remove the four bolts holding the upper housing to the car. 17mm.


5. You need to separate the bottom of the shock from the lower control arm, then push it towards the car in order to lower it into the gap between the control arm and the car. (Ignore the jack, it's not doing anything)


6. Be *extremely* careful here. Quarters are very tight, both the upper control arm and the upper shock housing will get very close to the fender lip. Complicating things are the locating pins for the housing and the wheel liner--the edges of the housing tend to hang up on both of them. Slowly lower the shock into the hole, then tip the upper part out away from the car. Lift the whole assembly up and out.


7. Take the shock someplace where you can work on it.


8. Remove the upper mounting bolt. 19mm.


9. Once the end of the bolt clears one side of the housing, force from the spring will pull down and bind the bolt. Using a punch is tough since the end of the bolt is conical. Luckily, you can simply turn it out with a ratchet.


10. When you do get the bolt all the way out, the shock will pop out three or four inches. Move your beer out of the way first. You could also use a spring compressor here if you want to avoid the excitement.


11. The rear coilover is pretty much a direct replacement, no parts need to be pirated from the old shock.


12. If needed, bottom out the adjustment ring on the shock (mine came that way). Insert the shock into the housing, matching the spring to the seat.


13. The shock won't quite reach the hole, but it's easy enough to push it down with your hand to get it to line up. You may have to fiddle a bit to get the rotation of the shock hole just right. Put on the mounting bolt. Bentley says to use a new nut *and* bolt. Tighten to 52 ft lb plus 1/4 turn.


14. Having learned my lesson on the fronts, I adjusted the springs *before* putting the unit back on the car. The punch is just to keep the lower part of the shock from turning.


15. I left 1.75 inches of thread below the collars. I would probably go more like 2.25 if I were doing it again.


16. Ready to go. Watch the fender when you slide it back in. Installation is the reverse of removal. Assemble everything, but don't tighten anything yet.


17. The hardest part is getting the lower mounting hole lined up. In addition to the up-down/left-right, the shock lower can (will) rotate out of whack. A floor jack and a long punch, drift, sacrificial screwdriver, etc are helpful here. Be patient and try not to get angry.


18. Tightening sequence and torque values from Bentley:

Upper shock housing to body, tighten all four bolts to 41 ft lb.

The last two bits are to be done with the car on the ground, according to Bentley. The idea is to avoid preloading the suspension bushings. Good luck with the upper control arm bolt; I'm sure you could fit a torque wrench around the tire easily, provided you remove the fender. Instead, I just jacked up the suspension a few inches to simulate being on the ground.

Upper control arm to bearing housing. New bolt, nut, and washer. Tighten to 37 ft lb plus 1/4 turn.

Lower shock to control arm. New bolt and nut, 52 ft lb plus 1/4 turn.

19. Wheels on, car on the ground, done.